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Why Is It Called "Soccer"?

June 4, 2015

Written byCuriosity Staff

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Even though the british call it "football," the word soccer has English origins. According to SportsPickle, the game was first developed in the Newgate Prison in London in the early 1800s, because prisoners who had their hands cut off for theft crimes wanted a sport that used their feet. Later that century, a form of the game emerged called Association football, which was then shortened to "assoc" before becoming "soccer" by the 1860s. As the game grew in popularity, it became known as football again in England, but the U.S. still calls it soccer today. Hear about the surprising origins of other words below.